Tag Archives: set design

Wicker; trend to be left in the Golden Girls’ home? Or on its way back?


Remember the Golden Girls? Off course you do. We just sat through ALL seasons again and loved them. And not just for the stories. I absolutely loved seeing that decor again. I remember loving those pastels when I saw the show first as a kid. The pale blues, tappid greens, peach pinks, matte beiges and the wicker… the wicker everywhere. But I want to bet you that wicker is hard on its way for a massive come back if it hasn’t arrived yet. And I think there will be enough room for a serious nod to the shoulder pad days. And I even think some relatives of the same pastels will be joining….

So maybe not exactly like this………

 

But more like this…

 

Yes I know, not wicker but ratan. Who made you king of woven furniture?

Don’t remember or know Lloyd Loom yet? Make a note of that name. It’s coming back!

 

Want to join me on the lanai?

Now where did I see these chairs before…….

Aah, yes….

 

In that case……

There you go….

I wonder what’s next…

Pink arches, glass beds, white high gloss tables and beige leather anyone?

 

 

Don Draper’s apartment


With the return of Mad Men we were introduced to Don and Megan’s wonderful love nest; apartment 17-B. It is a 60s style penthouse on top of a high-rise in NYC. In the episode where Megan surprises her beau with a wonderful rendition of Gillian Hills’ Zou Bisou Bisou a guest complains about the street noise below. That might be the catch as for the rest this place is wonderful!

Shag carpets, sunken living room, bold design patterns and an abundance of built-in cabinetry, it has the aesthetic of what I wouldn’t mind calling home! It has the sofa I’ve been thinking of buying. I’d get it in petrol though….

Megan singing Zou Bisou Bisou for Don

What we ALL want! The homes of production designer Jon Hutman


Production designer Jon Hutman is the master mind behind some of the most amazing homes in contemporary cinema. Did you like Helen Hunt’s pad in What Women Want? Or were you, and you should be, jealous of Cameron Diaz’s quintessential L.A home in The Holiday? Or how about Diane Keaton’s Long Island hideaway in Something’s Gotta Give? That house had home-owner across the globe going out on rampant hunts for the same brass handles, the same stools, pots, jars and everything. And most recently, Meryl Streep’s Santa Barbara’s cottage in It’s Complicated. All these were the work of Mr Hutman. In most cases, set decorator Beth Rubino assisted him.

Set design for 'It's Complicated'

Set design for 'Something's gotta give'

Set design for 'The Holiday'

Set design for 'Something's gotta give'

Set design for ‘It’s Complicated’

 Jon Hutman is known for his casual typical American designs. They look as if they grew organically and hardly any planning went into them.

To get inspired, check out some of the books about American interiors in the Homevoyeurs webshop.

For instance, American Farmhouses: Country Style and Design, By Leah Rosch

'American Farmhouses: Country Style and Design', by Leah Rosch

About the Author
Leah Rosch, formerly the executive editor of American Homestyle & Gardening magazine, has written for The New York Times as well as This Old House and Metropolitan Home magazines. Keith Scott Morton, the principal photographer for Country Living magazine, has been a leading photographer of country homes and interiors for fifteen years.

Shop on TV and movie sets


Say you’re watching Will & Grace and the shirt Will is wearing strikes your fancy, you just have to have Grace’s shoes, or you cannot get your eyes off Jack’s blue vintage sofa. Where to start?

There are a few shops in the greater Los Angeles area and cities like London that sell items worn by characters in famous TV shows. But obviously, online is your best bet. For instance, every now and then e-Bay auctions props or clothes used in TV series or movies. But chances are very very slim that they happen to sell Grace’s shoes or Jack’s sofa.

A few online outlets and initiatives claim they can help you find pretty much any item seen on TV. They must be in frequent touch with set designers, stylists and prop masters in Hollywood to live up to this, or they might just be promising more than they can live up to. Let’s put a few of them to the test.

First of is seenon.com. If you’ve seen it on TV, in a movie, or on a movie star; there’s a chance they know where to find it.  A true pity is that they focus mainly on clothes and accessories and less on decorative items and furniture. However, if you are into fashion,  this site is a true treasure chest. You can look up pretty much any show and then browse articles per character. Grace Adler has over 50 pairs of shoes on here.

They do have information  on Jack’s blue sofa though.

Jack's apartment in Will & Grace

Jack's apartment in Will & Grace

The sofa is Arne Jacobsen’s Swan Sofa, actually designed in 1958. The entire set, including the two chairs, are part of that line. Numerous shops sell this design classic, yet the shop seenon.com links to seems to be sold out. But have a look in Google and you should be able to score one near your home. Further to this sofa, they only offer furniture for three movies. Sex and the City, The Princess Diaries and License to Wed. 

 

Another website is Famous Fashions, again focusing mainly, if not solely, on clothing and accessories.  And the Club World, the US TV network and home to shows like 90210, Gossip Girl and Supernatural will soon launch a feature, Style, where viewers can find shopping information on items worn in the show.

 To find fashion donned by the stars proves to be not too hard. To find out where to buy their character’s sofa or vase seems to be a lot harder.

Backlot props, a website auctioning off and listing props used in movies and TV shows offers hope. The orange chairs used in the movie Dukes of Hazard as seen in the below frame can be found through here for example.  

Orange brawl bar chairs

Orange brawl bar chairs

Backlotprops.com

Backlotprops.com

Yet a search for other furniture brings back very little result. Yet again it’s mainly clothes that are listed here. Also, the list of movies of which one can browse props is limited.

 

Star Wars fans can get their kicks on this site.  The aptly called Movieprop.com features many links to certified replica dealers of masks and swords used in this epic science fiction flick and all the episodes and sequels to follow.

Yet for a simple old fashioned guy like myself who likes to know where to buy Will’s stunning faux-antique secretary desk as pictured in the image below, it is a grim grim world.

Will's living room

Will's living room on display in the library of Emerson college where W&G creator Max Mutchnick was a student

It’s pretty isn’t it? Maybe I should send an email to the set decorator Melinda Ritz herself?